FORT POLK, La. — Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for hospital accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol of quality reflecting the health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
BJACH underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite survey Oct. 29-31. During the review, a team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated the hospital and the outlying clinics: Fontaine Troop Medical Clinic and Lancon Soldier Centered Medical Home. Surveyors assessed the organization’s compliance with hospital standards related to several areas, including infection prevention and control, medication management, emergency management, environment of care and leadership.
“Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital is pleased to receive accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” said Col. Jody Dugai, BJACH commander.
“I am extremely proud of our team for their accomplishments. We continue to work together to develop and implement strategies that improve care for our service members, their Families and our community.”
Surveyors recognized several departments for exceptional work: Patient Centered Medical Home and Soldier Centered Medical Home patient care and documentation, Dining Facility cleanliness, Surgical Processing Department for explanation of processes, Operating Room organization and appearance, Facilities documentation and assessments, safety assessments of hospital construction areas, Pharmacy compounding explanation, Infection Control processes and monitoring, and the Emergency Department team Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk room assessment.
The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 16,000 health care organizations in the United States, including 4,400 hospitals, more than 3,900 home care entities, and more than 7,000 other health care organizations that provide behavioral health care, laboratory, ambulatory care and long term care services.
Although The Joint Commission certification is not mandatory, government medical treatment facilities undergo the accreditation process to instill patient confidence by being completely transparent. The process helps assure patients that the military hospital is measured by the same high-quality standards as civilian hospitals. The standards help hospitals measure, assess and improve performance.
Earning the Gold Seal of Approval is a remarkable accomplishment, but it does not stop there. BJACH healthcare professionals are constantly aware of how patient safety is an integral part of the organization’s culture. Accreditation is a continuous process of learning performance-improvement methods to advance the safety and quality of care, which can reduce the risk of errors for patients. BJACH is in constant pursuit of excellence to ensure it is medically ready to deliver safe, high quality care every day.